Benton County Tea Party

Dear  Tea Party Members Nationwide

I'm writing you today because urgent action is needed to help us put children first in the education system of our nation's capital. On Wednesday, the House will vote on H.R. 471, the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (SOAR). This bill would reauthorize the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, creating education choices for parents and rescuing children stuck in failing schools. Please call Congress and tell them to vote YES on the SOAR Act!

Because the District of Columbia is not a state, Congress has a unique role to determine DC education policy. DC has already become a breeding ground for some of the best conservative education reforms in America and if we can win this education battle in DC, we can push for more state reforms, like our School Choice for Pennsylvania campaign, that save taxpayer money and improve education competition.

The SOAR Act will give students a voucher enabling them to attend the school of their choice. It's important to note that, rather than spending new money, vouchers empower students as consumers. They allow students to take some of the dollars that would have been spent on their education at the local school they would have been forced to attend, and frees them to choose their own school where those dollars will instead pay for their education. Please call Congress now and tell them to vote YES on the SOAR Act!

It's a fiscally conservative plan which reduces the cost of education to taxpayers. Currently, the Washington, DC public school system is the most expensive yet produces the worst results in the nation. Taxpayers pay an average of $28,170 per pupil annually, but only 12 percent of eighth-graders are proficient in reading and only 8 percent in math. The SOAR Act only costs an average of $6,620 per student—one-fourth of the cost that the district currently pays for K-12 schooling.

But the American Federation of Teachers, a teachers' union which has openly opposed reform, gave $1 million to the campaign of new DC mayor Vincent Gray to try and kill any education reforms in DC. Why do teachers' unions want to see this bill fail? Because it takes away their power and puts it back in the hands of parents. Call Congress and help us fight back!

One of our nation's founding principles is the freedom to make economic choices for ourselves. When I was Majority Leader in Congress, I led this education fight because I believed children and parents deserved that freedom. When Congress passed the DC Opportunity Scholarship program in 2004, it gave thousands of DC families hope to send their child to a better school. In fact, the program was so popular that there were four applicants for every one available slot.

We only have until Wednesday to be heard on this critical issue. Help us put kids first in education. Call Congress NOW!

Sincerely,

Dick Armey
Chairman, FreedomWorks